Never See Paris
by geisel
Summary: For something good to finally happen to him, he had to give up his New Directions family and his own sight. But the thought of Blaine with him was that little bright spot now. That was something he could look forward to, he knew.
1. Chapter 1

Kurt Hummel was used to the teasing. He was used to people pushing him around, people stepping on him to get to the top, people making fun of him because he was gay. However, Kurt Hummel was _not_ used to Dave Karofsky.

Karofsky was Kurt's main tormentor and had originally started out as a cardboard cutout, straight-from-a-terrible-after-school-special bully. However, as Karofsky's tormenting continued, Kurt began to become more an more confused by Karofsky's behavior.

It all started when Kurt had chased Karofsky into the boys' locker room after being shoved into the lockers once again. Kurt and Karofsky had had a heated argument, and Kurt had yelled, "You are nothing but a scared little boy who can't handle how extraordinarily ordinary you are!"

After that, things changed.

Karofsky grabbed Kurt and kissed him. It was a sickening experience, leaving Kurt feeling queasy for hours after it had happened. Karofsky had bullied him to the point where he felt uncomfortable at McKinley and he expected him to be okay with him kissing him.

How wrong Dave Karofsky was.

Kurt had gone home and laid on the cool floor of his bathroom, waiting for himself to throw up. He stayed there for hours, refusing to eat or drink, and making Burt think he was sick. Thankfully, his father had let him stay home the next day. Kurt Hummel was _not_ a coward, just confused.

Over the next few weeks, Kurt managed to put the Karofsky incident into the back of his mind, but it was always there, nagging at him and making him think that Karofsky _was_ just a scared little boy, picking on his crush the way boys picked on girls in elementary school.

The day started out like any other, nothing extraordinary happening. In fact, the most exciting thing that happened was Mercedes' retelling a lame joke she heard from Brittany.

"What did the ghost say to the wall?" she said. An eye roll from Kurt was the response. "Hey, just passing through."

"Ha ha. Oh, that was hilarious. Let me catch my breath," Kurt said, emotionless. He was too busy arguing with Mercedes over whether lame jokes were _actually_ funny when he ran into Karofsky.

"Watch it, fag," Karofsky hissed in Kurt's direction, and suddenly the kiss was brought to the front of Kurt's mind. Why did Karofsky have to be such a jerk?

"What the hell did you just say to me?" Kurt snapped.

"I told you to watch it, fag!"

Karofsky's hands were on Kurt's chest and he pushed the smaller boy with such force that Kurt was sure his feet left the floor. He fell backwards, books flying out of his hands, and smacked his head on the lockers with a sickening sound.

Kurt shut his eyes, his head pounding. It wasn't bleeding, but damn, it hurt. Kurt shakily stood up, ready to snap back at Karofsky, even punch him if he had to, but Mercedes intervened.

"Karofsky, you better get moving before I open a can of whoop-ass on you," Mercedes said. Karofsky scowled and sulked away, the hallway finally returning to an almost normal state. Mercedes picked up Kurt's books and handed them to him.

"You alright, babe?" she asked. Kurt nodded, and his books slipped through his hands, crashing to the floor for a second time.

"Could you carry my books please?" he asked, rubbing his temples. Mercedes answered, "Alright," and helped him to his class.

The rest of the day went by uneventfully, except for the splitting headache he had and the nose bleed in the middle of 4th period. His vision was blurred and progressively getting worse, something he thought was just a side effect of the head ache.

Despite his better judgement, Mercedes convinced him to stay for glee club. He had wanted to go home, take twice the prescribed dose of pain medicine (his headache was that bad), and take a nap. However, Mercedes was afraid of an overdose and confiscated his keys, forcing him to stay at McKinley.

Kurt was barely getting by in practice. He didn't dance, and didn't sing out. Hell, he even opted out on singing his solo. Halfway through yet another one of Rachel's solos, Kurt's headache got to the point where the room was spinning.

"Mr. Schu, I have to go to the bathroom," he said, his eyes squeezed shut in pain. This headache had turned into a migraine, and with every blink, his vision became more and more distorted.

"Are you alright, Kurt?" Mr. Schuster said, and Kurt nodded.

"Just a headache."

"Well, okay then," he said and Kurt stumbled out of the room, blindly making his way down the hallway to the boy's bathroom. His hand trailed on the wall to keep him steady as he walked to the sink. He splashed cold water on his face, closed his eyes, and, like he had done so many times before, he looked up into the mirror to fix his hair.

But, unlike all the other times, Kurt couldn't see himself. In fact, he couldn't see _anything_. He splashed more water on his face, rubbed his eyes, pinched himself...he tried everything he could to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. But he wasn't. This was the scary reality.

He stumbled out of the boy's bathroom, and once he was in the hallway (or at least that's where he _thought_ he was) he yelled, "Help!" No response. "Help!" Again, no answer. Did they think he was joking?

"I NEED HELP!" he screamed, and again, he heard no reply. He sunk to the ground, terrified and crying, and he curled up into a ball. What was going on? Why was no one coming? Where were they?

Kurt lay on the floor for what felt like years before he finally heard something. "Kurt?" Mr. Schu's voice was accompanied by footsteps. It was a miracle. "Kurt, what-oh my God." Mr. Schu's footsteps became louder, and Kurt guessed that his teacher was running towards him.

"Kurt, what happened?" Mr. Schu said. His voice was close.

"I was in the bathroom and I put water on my face and now I can't see!" Kurt was crying now, and he was pretty sure that half of what he just said was incomprehensible to Mr. Schu.

"You can't see?" Kurt nodded, and Mr. Schu called, "Finn! Mercedes! I need you here, now!"

More footsteps came from down the hall, and Kurt could practically see Mercedes pushing Finn down to the ground in an attempt to get to Kurt as fast as possible.

"Baby, what happened?" she said. She pulled him into a sitting position, and hugged him close to her.

"I can't see," he kept repeating over and over, "I can't see."

"Mercedes, stay here with Kurt. Finn, go outside and call 911. I'm going to go tell everyone what's going on and then I'll meet you outside." Kurt heard Mr. Schu and his stepbrother leaving, and Mercedes squeezed him gently.

"Don't leave," he whispered, his crying finally subsiding enough for him to talk.

"Don't worry, baby," she said and she pushed a stray lock of his hair out of his face. "You'll never be alone."


	2. Chapter 2

The hospital bed was itchy. It felt as if it'd never seen fabric softener, and it probably hadn't. Kurt kept running his fingers over the coarse fabric over and over, needing something to do to take his mind off of what was happening.

He had an MRI done, which was probably the scariest moments of his life. He was surrounded by darkness while this terrible roaring went on. The doctors were showing him pictures, or, at least, that's what he was told they were doing, to see how his brain responded and to see if he was faking it or if it was real. The last part hit him the hardest. Why would he fake something like this? He thought that he was a pretty good actor, but he doubt he'd be able to fake something like blindness so convincingly.

After what seemed like forever, the doctor finally came back with answers. Their news wasn't the happiest. "There's a large possibility that you'll be permanently blind," the doctor said in his gravelly voice. Kurt felt the wind knocked out of him. How would he survive? He was born seeing, he had lived his whole life seeing, and now...now he was expected to go through life _blind_? He'd imagined what life would be like if he had more - who doesn't? Sure, what he wanted, other than Marc Jacob's new fall collection, wasn't exactly what most people would expect: assurance, safety, acceptance, maybe even another guy who was gay, one who wouldn't run at the sight of him. But being able to see, that was something he'd always thought he'd have. Hell, everyone took it for granted, and he really hated to use such cheesy lines, but it was true: you don't know what you have until it's gone.

In Kurt's opinion, he'd rather never know what he had if that meant it wouldn't be  
>gone.<p>

He could hear Carole's shocked gasp, and he could almost feel the anger seething from his dad. "What the hell do you mean by that? Can't you just give us a straight answer?"

The doctor hesitated before replying, "Mr. Hummel, it's not everyday we see an injury of this extent in a 17-year-old. He could recover, he could very well stay the same. The only way we'll know for sure is by watching."

Finn was quiet throughout the whole thing. Kurt wondered what his stepbrother was thinking about. When Finn finally spoke, he spoke without the cheerful tone he usually used. "So he could get his sight back?"

Why was everyone talking about him like he wasn't there? "It could happen, but we're not sure at this point," the doctor said. The doctor turned his attention to Kurt again. "Kurt, can you tell me what might've caused this?"

Kurt swallowed and said softly, "I want Blaine here."

Blaine Anderson was an openly gay student at Dalton Academy, a boarding school with a strict no bullying policy. He and Kurt had met when Kurt snuck in to spy on the Warblers, Dalton's glee club. Instead of getting mad, like Kurt had expected him to, Blaine had invited Kurt out to coffee with his friends, David and Wes. That was when Blaine told him about Dalton, and Kurt had nearly teared up when they talked about the no bullying policy. Blaine had understood instantly how Kurt felt, and confided that he'd been in the same situation in his last school. He'd run, and he regretted it, so he told Kurt to have courage, and face his tormentors.

A few days after meeting Blaine was when Karofsky had kissed Kurt. Blaine was the person Kurt went to with his problems, turning Blaine into a kind of mentor of his, a confidant and a friend. The two stayed up late talking to each other on weekends, and it was no surprise to Kurt's family that he wanted Blaine there with him.

"Kurt, sweetheart, it'll take Blaine an hour and a half to get here," Carole said. Kurt didn't care, but he could tell his family wanted answers _now_.

"A kid shoved me into the lockers really hard today," Kurt said quietly.

"How hard did he shove you?" the doctor asked. Kurt closed his eyes, a reflex that didn't help him anymore.

"I think I felt my feet leave the ground."

Burt got angrier and angrier with each word Kurt said. "Who was it?" he snapped.

Kurt shook his head, trembling. It almost felt like he was having trouble breathing, too, just at the thought of Karofsky. "Sweetheart, you need to tell us," Carole said.

"Why the hell aren't the police here?" Burt snapped at the doctor. He heard the doctor mumble something, and he heard his shoes clomp across the floor to the door.

"I want Blaine here," Kurt repeated. In his mind, his need for Blaine made sense. Blaine was the only one who'd understand what he was going through at school. No one else did; they weren't constantly bullied by a closeted gay guy for _being_ gay. And no one even pretended to care, much less noticed anything. It was something so bitterly ironic he was sure there was a cheesy movie about it.

So they waited. The police arrived in a half an hour, but Kurt refused to talk to them until Blaine was there. He wouldn't even let his family in the room. The only person he wanted to talk to was Blaine.

So Kurt sat in silence for an hour, picking at loose fibers on the blanket and humming songs to himself, desperately trying to keep himself from an all out panic attack. After an eternity, Kurt finally heard the door crack open. "Kurt?" It was Blaine. A wave of relief washed over him. Even though he and Blaine hadn't known each other long, he was the one person that Kurt went to whenever he was in trouble, or whenever Karofsky was getting to be too much to handle.

"What's going on?" Blaine asked.

Kurt heard footsteps and the harsh scrape of a plastic chair across linoleum flooring. "Karofsky did this. He _made_ me _blind_," Kurt said.

"Blind?"

Kurt took a deep breath and started the story. "I was talking to Mercedes in the hallway and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and I ran into him. He called me a fag and pushed me into the lockers really hard and it made me loose my sight." Even though his explanation was short and left out details, it was the basic story, and it brought tears to Kurt's eyes. He felt like such an idiot, crying in front of a boy he didn't really know.

"You know you have to tell the police this, right?" Blaine said, and Kurt wiped the tears off his cheeks with the back of his hands. He nodded.

"I-I know, I just couldn't do it alone," he replied, and he heard more footsteps as Blaine crossed the room to the door. The heard some words being exchanged, but he couldn't make out exactly what was being said. More footsteps followed, and he heard Blaine sit down in the chair next to him.

"Hi Kurt, I'm Mandy Jackson and I'm here with my partner, Jake Zimmer. We're here with the police department and we need to ask you a few questions about the incident that happened earlier today. Is that alright?" Mandy's voice was smooth and soft, and Kurt wondered what she was doing as a police officer.

Kurt bit his lip, his courage suddenly fading. What would Karofsky do if he told? Something warm grabbed Kurt's hand, and he looked at where his hand would be out of instinct. It was Blaine's hand, he could tell. It was shocking, but it still felt good. "Go on, tell them," Blaine said, softly encouraging Kurt. "I'm right here."

Kurt took a shaky breath and repeated the story that he told Blaine. When he was done, he was crying again. "How long has David harassed you?" Mandy asked. Kurt shrugged.

"A few months. It's gotten worse recently," he said distantly, Blaine's hand holding his was a distraction, even if it was welcomed.

"Do you know what caused it to get worse?"

Kurt felt his face flush. He hadn't told anyone about the kiss, not even Blaine. "You have to promise not to tell my dad," he finally said.

"I promise."

"I chased him into the boys' locker room after he harassed me, and he, uh, he," Kurt stumbled over his words, hesitant to say what happened in front of Blaine, "kissed me."

Blaine's grip on Kurt's hand got tighter, but only barely so. If he wasn't paying attention, he probably wouldn't have noticed it.

"What has David done to you?" Jake asked. Jake, unlike Mandy, _sounded_ like he should be a cop. He was so straightforward in his manner of speaking, it reminded Kurt of the police on the shows his dad used to watch when he was little.

"He's thrown slushies at me, pushed me into lockers, and called me names," he said. There were other things, but he couldn't think of them now.

Not with Blaine holding his hand.

**Author's Notes:**

So…here it is. I really want to say sorry for taking so long to update this. My computer got a virus 3 hours after I posted chapter 1. (Convenient, right?) Anyway, I'm trying to get on a regular update schedule, once every 3-4 days, perhaps?

I also want to thank my BFFL MagnusBaneLove13 for helping me "beef up" this chapter, as she put it. She's been really helpful, since, in all honesty, I have pretty much no idea what I'm doing. I just write.


	3. Chapter 3

When Kurt was released from the hospital a few days later, he was reluctant to go home for a few reasons. One, he wasn't exactly sure what he was wearing. It was something that Burt had brought him, and he wouldn't put it past his father to put him in flannel and jeans.

Two, he had no idea how to get around the house. The hospital had brought in someone to talk to Kurt about living blind, but it was pretty much a crash course. If you step forward with your left foot, your cane should tap right. The cane should be 2 or 3 steps ahead of you. Be careful when crossing the street. That was pretty much the extent of his learning, which left a lot for him to figure out. How the hell was he supposed to get up stairs? And "be careful" is not enough advice for crossing at a busy intersection!

And, finally, he didn't want to return to McKinley. He already got enough crap from people for being gay, and now he was blind. He could just imagine people calling him "Ray Charles" as he tapped down the halls. Plus, the school was crowded, almost unbelievably so. Getting through the hallway was hard enough when he could see and suddenly he was expected to travel down the narrow, crowded hallways blind and with a cane that he was_ supposed_ to keep 2 or 3 steps in front of him.

_Hell no_, he thought to himself as he sat in the car on the ride home. _I will _never_ go there like this._ He needed someone to vent to. Burt was still upset and practically seething about what happened, and Carole's voice was dripping with sympathy these days. He could never talk to Finn about something as serious as this, so he made a mental note to talk to Blaine when he got home.

The car pulled into a familiar driveway, and he heard the car engine shut off. He waited for Burt to come around and help him to the door, something he would've normally refused, but now that he was "disabled" he needed help with the simplest things, like dressing himself and, sometimes, even eating. He needed Burt to tell him which food was there, because the last time he didn't, he ended up trying to drink his pudding.

Burt linked arms with his son and gently guided him to the door, Kurt lagging a little behind his father. It was one of the skills he actually _learned_ in his crash course. By staying behind the person guiding him, he could tell if there was a stair or a step down by the way they moved. Once he heard the front door creak open, Kurt unfolded his collapsible cane and carefully started using it. He was determined to memorize the layout of his house so that he wouldn't need the cane, even if the memorization took him weeks.

Kurt realized he had never really _seen _his house until then. He'd lived in it his whole life, yet there were things he just never noticed. Like how the 3rd and 8th stairs creak when you step on them, or that there was a loose floorboard in the living room that sunk down when you stepped on it, or how the walls were smoother in the hallways than they were in the living and dining rooms.

Kurt walked down the hallway to Finn's room (last door on the left) and pulled his phone out. He asked his stepbrother to dial Blaine's number, and when he was asked why, he curtly responded, "It's personal," and grabbed for his phone. He walked across the hall to his room and hit call.

Blaine's phone rang 3 times before he answered it groggily. "Hullo?"

"Did I wake you up? I can always call you back later." Kurt tripped over his words, making his face hot. He still hadn't gotten over Blaine holding his hand yesterday, and even though he had spent so much time trying to convince himself that he didn't have a crush on Blaine, it didn't stop his heart from pounding when they spoke.

"It's fine. I needed to get up anyway," he said with a yawn. "What's up?"

"I'm going to die."

"What?"

"I'm _going_ to _die_. I can't do this. I can't be blind and still be _Kurt._"

"Lots of blind people have made it, like-"

"If you say Ray Charles, so help me God, I will murder you."

Blaine laughed. "But he's still one of them. And Helen Keller...you're much better off than she was."

"Now is not the time to be making Helen Keller jokes, Blaine. I called you because I need help."

Kurt heard what sounded like a ruffling blanket. "Alright, shoot."

"How am I supposed to go to McKinley blind? You should've seen me walking around my_ house_ earlier. I freaked when Finn bumped into me. I don't know what I'd do at school."

"Well, you could always come to Dalton."

Kurt blinked. "What?"

"Well, why don't you want to go back to McKinley?"

"I don't want to be made fun of."

"No bullying at Dalton."

"McKinley's crowded."

"The classes are small."

"But I won't know anyone."

"You know David and Wes, _and_ yours truly. I happen to be a popular guy."

"What about the stairs?"

"What about them?"

"I'm no good at stairs."

"I can help you until you are."

"And what about homework?"

"We can work something out. Look, it's the easiest solution."

"But what about tuition?"

"Again, we'll work something out. The principal is a pretty understanding guy."

"I...I guess so."

"So you'll talk to your dad?"

"I don't think he'll be so easily persuaded."

"Alright, just give me a while."

Kurt heard a click and he set his phone down on his bed. What was he supposed to do while he waited for word back?

A few minutes later, he heard the home phone ring. He heard his father pick up and talk to whoever was on the other end. After a few minutes, Burt said goodbye to whoever it was, and he walked down the hallway to his son's room. Kurt heard the door crack open, and Burt said, "That was the principal from that Dalton school. They want you to go there."

Kurt felt a smile creep up on his face. So _that's_ what Blaine was up to. "Can I?" he asked.

"Normally, I'd say no, but, since they offered a to cut the price in half, I guess you can."

Kurt clapped his hands together. "You have no idea how much I want to hug you right now!"

"The principal said that if we accepted, you'd start next week and that you'd be boarding there or whatever. I'll have Finn help you with packing once we're finished with dinner."

"Alright." Kurt heard his father leave the room and heard the door click shut behind him.

Kurt spent the rest of the day consumed by a frenzied excitement, let out only through his fingers as they drummed on his knee, the table, whatever his hands rested on. He couldn't believe that he was able to leave McKinley, leave behind the monotony, the slushies, Rachel's controlling personality, and Karofsky and all his sidekicks that lived to make his life a living hell.

And in leaving McKinley, he got to go to Dalton Academy. With none other than Blaine Anderson. Where there was an enforced, no bullying policy, something he could've only dreamed of until now. It seemed rather ironic that for something good to finally happen to him, he had to give up his New Directions family and his own_ sight_.

But the thought of Blaine with him was that little bright spot now. That was something he could look forward to, he knew.

Finn wasn't much help with packing. He would confuse the Marc Jacobs designs with every other designer under the sun, and was so hopelessly lost in Kurt's closet that Kurt had to end up calling out simple styles and colors instead of names. Finn would hand them to him, and Kurt would recognize them by the texture of the cloth, the patterns stitched into them and the level of wear in them. He marveled at how much he remembered, seeing as how he'd never noticed the feel of his clothes before.

Soon all the clothes were folded and set into the suitcase on Kurt's bed with Finn zipping it up. A few tears threatened at the back of his eyes, and he blinked out of habit, not needing to now since they wouldn't cloud his vision.

That thought was enough to send a few tears rolling down his cheeks, and as he wiped them away, he felt the mattress move beside him and heard Finn sit down with a sigh. "You okay, man?" he asked Kurt with a familiar tone: slightly worried, a little uncomfortable, but completely sincere.

Kurt just turned to his stepbrother and hugged him. "I will be, Finn. I promise."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

I want to give a big thank you to everyone who reviewed: kyubifreak, SkyWriter9, MagnusBaneLove13, and Golden Perception. You guys rock!

And, once again, I want to thank MagnusBaneLove13 for beta-ing. She's helped out so much with this story, it's ridiculous. You rock.


	4. Chapter 4

"Kurt, wake up. We're here," Carole said, and she gently shook her stepson. Kurt was already awake, but didn't want to say anything. Carole was trying so hard to be the best mother she could be, and he didn't want to make her feel bad, so he just went with it.

He yawned, stretched, and said, "'Kay," before unbuckling himself and unfolding his cane. He swung his door open and set the tip of the white cane on the pavement, ready to go. He could tell that Burt and Finn were hovering behind him. He wanted to tell them that he'd be fine without them standing so damn close, but he didn't want to hurt their feelings.

Kurt made his way through the parking lot, following the sound of Carole's footsteps. They met up with Blaine and the principal at the end of the parking lot and Kurt could practically feel him smiling. "Welcome to Dalton. This is Mr. Hall, the principal."

"Mr. and Mrs. Hummel, if you'll follow me, there are a few more things I'd like to go over with you in my office," Mr. Hall said. His voice was deep and friendly, but Kurt didn't doubt that if he wanted to, it could easily become one of the scariest voices at Dalton.

"I'll show you two to the dorms," Blaine said, noticing that Finn had Kurt's suitcase. Finn had refused letting Kurt carry it, saying, "It's not a problem, Kurt."

Kurt allowed Blaine to link arms with him and let he lagged behind. It was odd, but comforting. "The dorms are just a little bit ahead."

When a wave of heat hit him, he knew that he was inside the dorms. "This is the 'living room.' It's where we all come to hang out. Down the hallway to your right are the dorms where you'll be staying." Blaine whispered, "I asked for your room to be right next to mine. Is that alright?" Kurt nodded.

"Perfect."

Blaine led them down the hall and told Kurt, "Your room is the 6th on the right. Here it is." Blaine pushed open the door and led Kurt inside. "The bed is over on the far right wall, and next to it is desk. Your closet is on the opposite wall. I went ahead and put your jacket in your closet, if that's alright with you."

"Thanks," Kurt said. Finn brushed past them and, by the sound of it, put Kurt's suitcase on his bed.

"Do you wanna start unpacking?" Finn asked awkwardly. Kurt could tell he wasn't comfortable with the silence, and, to be honest, neither was he. He made a mental note to plug in his iPod as soon as he could.

"That'd be great," Kurt said, and Blaine guided him to his bed, his cane tapping and brain counting at the same time. 4 steps from the door to the middle of the bed, he counted.

It didn't take long to unpack with Finn and Blaine. In fact, Kurt didn't do any work at all. He just told them where to put his things, and they followed his directions. Fifteen minutes later, his suitcase was unpacked and the three of them were just sitting around.

"I see you've already unpacked," Mr. Hall said, his voice ringing out in the silence. Kurt hadn't noticed that he and his parents had returned.

"It looks like you've got everything under control," Burt said. He and Finn were so much alike sometimes, both of them hating silence. "So, I guess we'll be going." Burt walked over to his son and gave him a hug. "Behave, you hear?"

Kurt rolled his eyes, something he knew his dad couldn't see under his dark sunglasses. "I love you too." Carole gave him a hug as well, holding on much longer than Burt had. Kurt could tell she was on the verge of tears, but she refused to cry there. Finn, rather than giving his stepbrother a hug, just told him, "I'll see you later."

Kurt was glad that Finn had been so awkward in that moment. He didn't know what he'd do if he got another hug. His family left and Mr. Hall, leaving him and Blaine alone. "Oh!" Blaine suddenly exclaimed. "Stay where you are."

Kurt heard him leaving the room, and come back a minute later. "Here," he said, handing Kurt a piece of paper. "You need your teachers to sign this and then you turn it in. I, uh, got you signed up for my classes so I could help you out. You don't mind, do you?"

Kurt felt relief wash over him. One of his biggest fears since transferring to Dalton would be that he was stranded alone and helpless in just one of his classes. "Not at all."

"I'll see you later," Blaine said.

"I'll hear you later." Kurt hoped Blaine would pick up on his joke, and when Blaine let out a laugh, Kurt laughed too.

The all too familiar click of a door closing rang throughout the otherwise silent room, and Kurt pulled his knees to his chest. Butterflies swarmed in his stomach. He was excited to be here with Blaine and away from Karofsky, but that didn't stop him from missing Mercedes and the rest of New Directions. They'd become a second family to him, even if some of them _were_ a little hostile at times.

When he'd told Mercedes that he was going to Dalton, he could almost hear the sadness in her voice. "I'll miss you, beau," she told him. "I'm always a phone call away, remember that." She whispered, "And if Blaine gives you any trouble, you let him know I'll whoop his skinny little white boy ass. Don't let anyone give you trouble, you hear me?"

Kurt nodded and smiled. "I won't."

Things would be different here at Dalton, he knew it. He wouldn't have to walk around in fear, he wouldn't have to rush to his classes, (being blind gave him a bit of a leeway when it came to punctuality) and hopefully, he'd make friends easier. The last wasn't the easiest for Kurt at McKinley. Being the only openly gay student _and_ being on glee club were a lethal combination to any one's social status. But here, he got a fresh start.

And was he excited.

He didn't know what time he fell asleep or what time he was woken up, but he could tell it was early. He hadn't been able to keep track of time easily since he'd lost his sight; the times of day had all become one huge blur. He'd just go to bed when he got tired and wake up when he wasn't. But now, he supposed, he'd have to get on a schedule. And find a clock that would let him tell the time.

"Are you up?" Blaine's voice was what brought Kurt to consciousness, and Kurt shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"I am now. What time is it?" he asked with a yawn. Blaine paused, probably looking at his watch, and answered, "6:50. Classes start at 8, and breakfast is served at 7."

"Could you stay while I get ready?" Kurt knew it was an odd question, but he hadn't gotten completely ready on his own since he lost his sight and was certainly not going to start on the first day of classes.

"Sure." Blaine's shoes clacked on the hardwood floor as he made his way to Kurt's bed. Kurt unsteadily got out of bed, not really sure of the layout. He'd only lived there a day, and didn't know it as well as he wanted to. His hands stayed slightly outstretched, acting as a makeshift cane as he made his way to his closet to grab his uniform. After going through and feeling all of the fabrics in the closet, he found one that was unfamiliar to his touch. He pulled it out and turned towards the other wall.

"Is this it?" Kurt asked.

"Yep," Blaine said. "I'm turning around," he informed Kurt, and he heard the groan of the springs of his bed as he turned to face the wall.

Kurt pulled off the clothes he wore yesterday and put them in the hamper Carole bought him on their way from Lima to Westerville. He pulled on his pants, making sure the button was in front, but he struggled getting his shirt buttoned. He couldn't get the buttons to match up properly, and it was really frustrating him. "Do you need help?" Blaine asked. Kurt ignored him and continued trying to button his shirt on his own. "Kurt, do you need help?"

Kurt gave up, frustrated. "Yes." He heard Blaine cross the room towards him, and Kurt flushed as Blaine buttoned his shirt, and then tied his tie. He tried not to notice how close their faces were, or how warm Blaine's hands were. He could smell Blaine's cinnamon breath.

"Do you need help with your shoes?" Blaine asked, and Kurt shook his head.

"I just need you to hand them to me," he said, and Blaine handed Kurt his shoes. The leather was cool and Kurt sat down on the cold floor as he pulled them on and tied them with ease. It was one of the few skills he had completely mastered now, and he found it kind of embarrassing. Tying his shoes was such a simple task, yet it was one of the few he could still do on his own. Blaine helped Kurt stand up and he handed him his jacket, sunglasses and cane and linked arms with him.

"Let's go before all the good stuff is gone," he said. Kurt slid is sunglasses over his face, and followed Blaine out of the dorms. It was warm outside, and boy, did it feel _good_. Burt wouldn't let him go outside, even when Mercedes and Tina had sworn up and down that they'd make sure he was safe.

"What if they aren't paying attention?" Burt had said. "What if you get hit by a car, or get lost, or you lose your cane?" Kurt had insisted that there was a slim chance _any _of that would happen, but it still didn't convince his father. He enjoyed his brief time in the sun, but was soon whisked into the Commons.

It was loud and noisy in here, and it smelled like sausage and eggs. Blaine led Kurt to the line, and asked, "What do you want?"

Kurt shrugged. "I'll have an apple."

"Just an apple?" Blaine nudged him with his elbow. "You need to have more than an apple. You look ridiculously underweight."

"Leave my appetite alone. I'm not even that hungry."

"Nervous?" Kurt could practically hear the smile in Blaine's voice. Kurt, in response, rolled his eyes.

"You have no idea."

"Relax. It'll be fine." Blaine nudged him again. "Besides, I hear your tour guide is pretty handsome."

Kurt laughed. He could imagine Blaine's head getting a bit bigger. "Looks don't matter any more," Kurt reminded him. "He's got to have a good personality and voice. Not that they weren't important before, but...you know."

"Are you saying I don't look good?" Blaine asked.

"I'm saying I couldn't care. But," he added, "if it makes you feel better, I guess you look great."

"It does."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

I'm so sorry for the wait! I've got an excuse, but it's lame and well, I'm just really sorry. But the chapters keep getting longer and longer. :D

Big thanks to everyone who's reviewed and especially to my friend MagnusBaneLove13, who not only helped me fix this up but also pestered me into getting in finished. So you can thank her for the update. :D


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